1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the manufacture of stickers, and the like, and, more specifically, to environmentally compatible, biodegradable stickers with vibrant colors and decorations thereon applied by inkjet printer methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the relatively conventional method of producing such articles of manufacture, such as stickers, silk screen printing technology is used to apply an adhesive layer on silicon coated paper, then using silkscreen printing to apply another layer of plastisol thereto. Then, the combination must be treated using a relatively high temperature heat blower to the combination.
One of the typical problems encountered in this prior art article of manufacture and the method for accomplishing it was that the heating process would not create one bonded layer. Consequently, the adhesive layer used to bond the sticker to another surface was not removable and reusable. As a result, some adhesive residue was left behind on the surface to which the sticker was adhesively attached to which was undesirable since the adhesive residue left on the surface had to be somehow removed. Oftentimes, merely scrubbing with water, or soap and water, did not remove the adhesive residue. If petrochemical liquids, such as nail polish remover (typically acetone), alcohol, paint thinner, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), turpentine, white (unleaded) gasoline, trichioroethylene (TRIC), or the like, would have to be used to remove the undesirable adhesive residue. Use of such petrochemical solvents oftentimes reacts harshly with colored materials by either removing some (or all) of the coloring from the material, or causes damage to the materials.
Additionally, use of the prior art method often produced irregularities in color, color brightness, contrast, imperfect bonding of between the adhesive and the plastisol resulted in image distortion of the decorative design especially when the sticker was removed from the original surface it was adhesively bonded to. When such occurs the sticker is not usually considered reusable, and, hence, is tossed in the trash.
In the prior art, the silk screen process is used to create images on a resin layer. This is the method typically used on conventional printed ceramic tiles and in printing on, and in the use of vinyl printing. However, this prior art technique oftentimes does not produce ideal products due to inconsistency in the nature of the silk screen production processes. Consequently, this method is often considered to be not feasible for even small quantity production runs and due to its relative high cost especially since it is labor-intensive.
Conventionally, images are printed on heat treated PVC (polyvinyl chloride) layer that was silk screen printed on top of a silk screen printed and applied adhesive material. However, these layers are prone to color fade and dullness as well as producing serious environmental pollution issues due to the non-biodegradable toxic character of the materials used.
The net results is that the present invention overcomes significant portions of the problems found in the use of prior art processes and methods.
The invention described herein consists of both an article of manufacture and the method for making such article, including an article of manufacture for the construction of environmentally compatible stickers which are decorated using inkjet printing methods comprising a polymer plastisol biodegradable rubber resin as its primary ingredient to form one layer from bonding multiple layers. This removable/reusable sticker can even be used for preventing one from slipping in the bathtub. It is environmental friendly because of it is biodegradable. When the sticker is discarded, it simply biodegrades and becomes a genuine part of the landscape. The inkjet printing method application is also effective in reducing multiple numbers of manufacturing steps or processing stages to simply one in order to create vibrant custom inkjet produced images all at a relatively low cost.
The new article of manufacture for the production of stickers, and the like, involves the use of silicon coated paper. The printable side of the silicon coated paper is treated with a mixture of glue comprised of acrylic polymer binder and DOP (dioctyl phthalate) in order to give it a non-slippery texture. A removable and reusable decorative sticker is formed by screen printed adhesive layer and polymer plastisolxe2x80x94which is formed typically be a mixture of acrylic polymer binder, starch, PVC and DOPxe2x80x94layer which is then heated through infrared (I.R.) conveyor type dryer to produce a single, bonded layer of material.
In another embodiment of the invention, there is a silicon coated paper having printable side treated with a mixture of glue comprised of acrylic polymer binder and dioctyl phthalate (DOP) producing a slippery textured surface.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a removable and reusable decorative sticker formed by silk screen printed adhesive layer and polymer plastisol formed of a mixture of acrylic polymer binder, starch, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and dioctyl phthalate (DOP), and then passed through an infrared (I.R.) conveyor dryer to form one bonded layer.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a decorative sticker with real-life-like photo image thereon manufactured using the inkjet printing process rather than the silk-screen printing process which involves several number of complex processing stages.
The previously described versions of the present invention has many advantages which include that the new article of manufacture and the method for producing such discovered by me enables stickers to be make which are both removable and reusable. No adhesive residue is left on the surface to which the sticker is adhesively attached.
A further advantage is that this process prevents ink from bleeding, smear, or spread with the use of the fast drying, small inkjet droplets used in modem inkjet printing technology. Consequently, by the use of this product and process for producing this article of manufacture, the applications are vastly increased and virtually any kind of images can be applied in the construction of the stickers. The resultant sticker construction retains excellent bonding and water resistant and scratch resistant properties, yet it maintains its elasticity as well. It also is used in creating any type of images perfectly using conventional inkjet printing methods. Use of the Inkjet printing method completely eliminates the multiple processing stages of silk screen printing and converts it down to just one stage. As a result, a new, improved sticker is constructed which is also low in cost, removable and reusable.
A still further advantage, this new and unique product is also biodegradable because of the use of its ingredient, namely: polymer starch plastisol, which is added in during the emboss processing stage for protection and preservation of the inkjet produced image. Not only does it protect and preserve, but it also greatly reduces color fade and sliding prevention.
Another advantage is to produce a decorative sticker having real life-like photo images such can be manufactured or produced using the inkjet process. The application of real lifelike photo images was not possible using silk screen processes which typically involve a multiple number of complicated processing stages which is expensive and imprecise resulting in a large variation of quality products.